A Devastating Defeat for Satan

Fortunately, not all of Satan’s celebrated attempts at the ruination of souls have been successful. There are those he’d rather forget. A most traumatic defeat was the case of one Aurelius Augustinus, a rowdy ne’er-do-well from an obscure town in North Africa. Although a brilliant student, this son of a pagan landowner after finishing school led the life of a young man with no responsibilities and lots of money. He himself described his existence as “a basking in nothing but sin, pride, and sensuality.” Here was Satan’s kind of guy.

Aurelius Augustinus discontinued his study of law and took up writing, an art in which he excelled. He lived with a woman for fifteen years in a relationship which produced a son out of wedlock. His fascination with evil led him to the Manichaeans, a cult which espoused dualism. Dualism taught the doctrine that the universe is being dominated by two opposing forces. It views humans as being constituted of two irreducible elements: matter and spirit. Both of these are under the contentious influences of good and evil. Dualism is important because it led to the study of cognition, and the eventual creation of the field of psychology.

The reason the loss of Augustinus was such a crushing defeat for the devil is two-fold. First of all, this sinner was a devoted follower of Satan’s way of life. He reveled in depravity and immorality. He was a seeker of pleasure and someone we would call a real “party animal.” Satan felt he was a “lock.” He was using him to help corrupt and lead astray other of God’s children. This brilliant, charismatic playboy was doing Satan’s work. Satan loves to recruit souls to help in spreading his agenda of chaos and darkness.

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The second reason is that the loss of Aurelius Augustinus was such a blow to the evil on that, once out of the grasp of Satan’s power, he became a powerful source for good within the Church and throughout the world for generations to come. During the years 397 to 400 AD he authored the first autobiography ever written, Confessions. In 416 AD he wrote On the Trinity and from 413 to 426 AD City of God. He became one of the greatest theologians of all time and is distinguished as a Doctor of the Church. We revere him as Saint Augustine.

For thirty-five years until his death, St. Augustine served as Bishop of Hippo. He was killed during the Vandal siege of 430 AD. He is the patron saint of England, printers, and theologians. He wrote to God: “You have made us for Yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

For the evil one, the loss of Augustine was quite a “kick in the teeth.” The conversion of Augustine is attributed to the prayers of his mother Monica, also revered as a saint by the Catholic Church. The devil’s loss of St. Augustine was a real coupe for the Almighty One. For Satan, it was “defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.”